The Wild
Short description
The Wild centers on Samson, a lion living at the New York Zoo who entertains his friends with tales of his supposed adventures in the wild. His teenage son Ryan, tired of hearing these stories, wanders into a shipping container and is accidentally carried off to Africa. Samson sets out to find him, joined by a group of zoo animals: Benny the squirrel, Nigel the koala, Bridget the giraffe and Larry the snake. Leaving the city behind, the group must work together to survive unfamiliar terrain and bring Ryan home.
The film was directed by Steve "Spaz" Williams and written by Ed Decter, John J. Strauss and Mark Gibson, with Beau Flynn and Clint Goldman producing. It was released in April 2006 by Walt Disney Pictures alongside Contrafilm, C.O.R.E. Feature Animation and Hoytyboy Pictures. The voice cast includes Kiefer Sutherland as Samson, Jim Belushi as Benny, Eddie Izzard as Nigel, Janeane Garofalo as Bridget, William Shatner as Kazar and Richard Kind as Larry, among 55 credited cast members and 112 credited crew.
The production had a budget of 80 million US dollars and took in about 102 million US dollars worldwide, a modest return rather than a strong one. Audience scores sit close to the middle on both platforms, with 5.2 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 29,000 votes and 5.5 out of 10 on TMDB from around 1,200 votes. A critics' rating of 4.8 out of 10 from 111 reviews puts professional response slightly below the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- While preparing for filming, Kiefer Sutherland learned to roar like a lion. He didn't practice at home, where his daughters might get scared, but in his car on the highway, where only drivers in adjacent lanes paid attention to him.
- Laura Dern was initially considered for a role in the film, but it turned out she was filming in one of the 'Jurassic Park' franchise movies (which never actually made it to the screen). At various times, Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Amanda Plummer, and Jennifer Beals were also considered for the same role.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
